Dancehall selector Foota Hype is reportedly in good spirits even though he has been detained for three weeks at the Krome Service Processing Center in Miami, an immigration holding facility, as he remains in limbo regarding his immigration status.

“Foota Hype is in great spirits, laughing and joking as usual. Sometimes I have to remind myself that he is really in Krome because he’s in such good spirits. He has a clean record, he did not do anything wrong. So he is not worried, he has been in frequent contact with his wife, they are good. She will be in court to support him once ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] grants him a court date. The lawyer said it would take anywhere between 30 to 60 days to get a court date,” a source told Jamaica Observer.

There have been reports surfacing online that Foota Hype’s wife had filed for divorce, and that he may be deported. The source denied these rumours.  

“Even though Foota and his wife may be estranged, they have been in communication with each other almost every day. Foota Hype is not under any removal or deportation order so he is just waiting to be assigned a court date,” the source said.

According to checks made with a US immigration attorney, a divorce may make it harder to become a permanent resident, but it is still possible. You must show that you married in “good faith”. That means that you intended to live together as spouses when you married. To show this, you may submit documents showing that you shared a normal married life with your former spouse. This could include having a joint lease, a joint bank account, joint credit cards, or coverage under the same auto and health insurance policies.

“If you already have a green card and are a permanent resident at the time of the divorce, the divorce should not change your status. However, the divorce may force you to wait longer to apply for naturalisation. In this case, you would need to wait five years, rather than three,” said the immigration lawyer, who wished not to be identified.

Foota Hype (given name Oneil Ricardo Thomas) was detained on Saturday, December 14, on arriving at Port Everglades Seaport aboard the Independence of the Seas, from Falmouth, Jamaica.